US imposes ‘toughest ever’ sanctions on Iran hitting key oil sector

The US has imposed its “toughest ever” round of sanctions on Iran hitting the nation's key oil export sector.

Major parts of the Iranian economy including oil exports, shipping and banking will be affected, as President Donald Trump reintroduces sanctions that were scrapped under the Iran nuclear deal.

Crowds gathered in Tehran yesterday evening with chants of “death of America”, Reuters reported, as protestors marked the anniversary of the seizure of the US Embassy in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the decision to impose sanctions.

The sanctions, which the White House said would be the toughest ever imposed on Iran, were sparked by the US’s decision to leave the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran as part of a wider plan to force the country to cancel its nuclear programmes and end support for proxy forces in conflicts in the Middle East.

Trump withdrew from the US nuclear agreement in May branding the deal “defective” because it had failed to prevent Iran from developing a ballistic missile programme.

Trump said on Friday: “Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster.

“The sanctions will target revenues the Iranian regime uses to fund its nuclear program and its development and proliferation of ballistic missiles, fuel regional conflict, support terrorism, and enrich its leaders.”

Anahita Thoms, head of Baker McKenzie's international trade practice, said that "many sectors" are affected by the move.

She told the BBC: "There was a first round that affected the automotive sector, the trade in gold sector, the graphite and raw materials sector.

"And the second round now affects various sectors actually, the energy sector, the banking sector, insurance, shipping, ship-building…on top there are national and legal persons that are put back on the list…and in addition to that [US Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo also announced there will be hundreds more put back on the list so it will have a huge impact on business with Iran."